Two unions representing more than 60,000 UC employees plan to strike Monday and Tuesday, limiting access to dining halls and other campus services.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299, which represents 37,000 patient care, service and skilled craft workers, called for the strike because of the University’s alleged failure to reach a fair contract with union members. The California Nurses Association’s UC nurses announced they would strike in sympathy with AFSCME Local 3299.
[Related: UPTE-CWA 9119, AFSCME Local 3299 to strike Nov. 17-18, backed by CNA]
The University Professional and Technical Employees-Communications Workers of America 9119, which represents researchers and technical workers, was originally set to go on strike with the two unions but reached a contractual agreement with the UC Nov. 8. UPTE-CWA 9119’s members have until Thursday to vote to ratify the tentative agreement.
[Related: After more than a year, UC reaches contract with UPTE-CWA 9119]
All residential dining halls – except for De Neve Residential Restaurant, Feast at Rieber, Epicuria at Covel and food trucks – will be closed during the duration of the strike, UCLA Housing and Hospitality said in an emailed statement. The three open dining locations will adopt a to-go model to accommodate large volumes of students, it added in the statement.
Housekeeping services will be modified because of limited staffing, and mail services could be impacted as some carriers may not deliver packages directly to the university during the strike, UCLA Housing and Hospitality said in the statement.
“Our goal is to maintain consistent services and minimize the impact of the strike on students,” it said in the statement.
UPTE-CWA 9119 began its negotiations with the University in June 2024, and its contracts expired in October 2024. While the union will no longer be going on strike, it encouraged its members to join AFSCME Local 3299 and CNA in picketing on their off-hours, according to its website.
The UC Office of the President said in a statement Friday that the UC values the work of AFSCME Local 3299 employees but has not received a counterproposal from the union since April. UCOP added that the University has reached contractual agreements with other unions in the past month, which it said serves as proof that UCOP can quickly reach agreements “when both parties actively participate in solutions-oriented bargaining.”
In a separate statement Friday, UCOP said it presented CNA with “generous proposals” during negotiations – the last session of which happened Nov. 5 – but the two parties did not come to an agreement. It added in the statement that the UC has plans to support patient care amid the strike.
Liz Perlman, the executive director of AFSCME Local 3299, said the union has a “patient protection task force” that provides support to employees who are not on strike in case of emergency.
Negotiations between AFSCME Local 3299 and the UC have been ongoing since January 2024, and the contracts for its patient care and service workers units expired in July 2024 and October 2024, respectively.
CNA is also currently in negotiations with the UC. The contracts for CNA’s registered nurses expired Oct. 31, and its next bargaining sessions are scheduled for Nov. 19 and 20, according to UCNet’s website.
AFSCME Local 3299 and UPTE-CWA 9119 went on strike four times during the 2024-25 academic year – three of which were joint strikes – limiting dining, custodial and mail services.
[Related: UPTE-CWA 9119, AFSCME Local 3299 negotiations with UC remains ongoing]
Darnell Hunt, the executive vice chancellor and provost, said in an emailed statement that the University has been working “earnestly and in good faith” to reach a contract with the unions, adding that it is currently in negotiations with five unions.
“These anticipated labor activities come amidst a very difficult time for our entire university system, as we face attacks on the value of higher education, budget challenges, workplace reductions and a hiring freeze, and further funding reductions at the state and federal levels,” Hunt said in the statement.
He added in the statement that people in management or supervisor positions should not speak with union members about the strike or make statements about it, including on social media.
Perlman said AFSCME Local 3299’s members are going on fight for affordable housing and health care, adding that thousands of the union’s employees have left their roles since the COVID-19 pandemic.
She added that, while the UC has given salary increases to its executives, AFSCME Local 3299’s members are “often the lowest paid workers.”
“Without us, hospitals don’t run, campuses don’t run – they don’t run on administrators showing up to work,” Perlman said.
AFSCME Local 3299 and CNA will picket at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center during the strike.
AFSCME Local 3299 will also strike in Bruin Plaza and at 16 other locations across the UC. CNA will picket at nine medical centers across the UC.
Jesse Howard, a second-year environmental science student, said he believes the strikes happen too often and are inconvenient for students.
“Hopefully the problem gets dealt with, and both sides come to some sort of agreement,” he said. “That way it doesn’t keep happening time after time. It was a lot last year.”
Contributing reports by Gemma Gentin, Daily Bruin contributor
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